Is Saudi Terrorist Rehabilitation Key to Closing Gitmo?

Obama’s promise to close the prison by January is being hampered in part by the fate of 97 Yemini detainees – viewed as among the most radical – who remain there.

U.S. officials have been applying pressure on Saudi Arabia to take the prisoners into their terrorist rehabilitation program, as Yemen is not viewed as a secure enough to repatriate the prisoners. But Saudi officials, in fear of becoming a greater al-Qaeda target, are not keen to take on the prisoners, according to The Post. They also say the Yeminis are not right for the program because it relies on close family ties.

The controversial Saudi program attempts to rehabilitate terrorists and integrate them back into everyday life through a combination of religious, psychological and social programs. NOW traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier this year for an inside look at the controversial program.

In the show, we see inmates from Guantanamo Bay being brought to Saudi Arabia, given a hero's welcome, then sent to a converted holiday resort for re-education. After that, many are enticed to reform with the offer of a car, a job, and even a wife.

Comments (1)

"we know that if we don't take care of them, there are others who will."

that's a quote from Lacey's superb article on the Saudi's form of terrorist rehabilitation. The US needs to understand the mentality that treating the Gitmo detainees worse will only create more enemies.